Orientalism today.

This article proposes a bibliographical synthesis of the artistic manifestation of Orientalism in the 19(th) century. Thirty years ago, on the occasion of the exhibition in Marseilles, L'Orient en Question, we speculated on the relevance of a theme which might have seemed to have grown stale. Actually with time, its solidity and legitimacy have unceasingly increased. After the period of taking stock, with its multitude of exhibitions and monographs, which gradually restituted the opulence of the body of work, often undreamed of beyond a few great names, new issues have suddenly appeared. The precise study of voyages was developed, in parallel with that of the literary domain, emphasizing, for example, the interest of "intertextuality" than can have its equivalent in painting. The "two exoticisms 11 noted by Gautier, in time and in space, were enhanced by various studies. Since 1978, the "key-stone" book by Edward Said, Orientalism has imposed interpretive thinking. For or against the thesis of a Western imperialism, which according to the author, "created" the Orient, art history has taken into account an interpretation which has made its mark. This is perhaps not foreign to the current dialogue between "Orient" and "Occident", concerning the reception of Islamic art, or on the perception of Orientalism in the countries which served as its models.